A source familiar with the exchange confirmed that McCarthy and Stefanik were among a group of Republican lawmakers who shared a trip on Air Force One in late May, as Trump traveled to observe the launch of a SpaceX rocket in Florida. When Trump joined lawmakers, the Stone issue came up. According to the source, Trump quickly revealed that he intended to grant leniency to Stone, his long-time trusted and political adviser, but wanted advice on the timing.
Gaetz said the president should give Stone an immediate break, while McCarthy and Stefanik advised him to consider waiting until after the election, the source said.
Attorney General Bill Barr had also advocated against Stone’s clemency. But Trump ultimately chose to keep Stone out of prison entirely, commuting his sentence on July 10, just four days before he turned up for a Georgia center. The commutation left Stone’s convictions standing, and has promised to continue to fight them on appeal, though Trump could always fully forgive him at a later date.
Stone’s indication that McCarthy and Stefanik, two of the most prominent Trump House advocates during the Russia probe and impeachment probe, fought immediate clemency is remarkable because few Republicans-elect have spoken publicly about the matter. . Lawmakers attendees did not respond to requests for comment.
Of those who spoke, Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called it “unprecedented historical corruption” and Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Said he disagreed with the decision. Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), on the other hand, endorsed Trump’s commutation decision, saying it was appropriate because Stone was a non-violent criminal for the first time.
Stone was convicted last year on multiple charges of lying to the House Intelligence Committee about his efforts to contact WikiLeaks and gain advanced knowledge of his plans to release hacked emails from Hillary Clinton and her campaign advisers. He was also found guilty of threatening a witness in the case, and the judge reprimanded him twice at his trial for violating the gag orders.
Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February, and his efforts to postpone the start of his prison sentence failed when Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected a last attempt to delay his sentence until September.
